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society and the national-democratic movement in the second half of the 19th century.
The 1710 of the corporations of knights and towns, until Alexander II (18551881),
established the relationships between Estonia, Livonia and the Russian Empire. The Baltic
Landesstaat reached its full development.
The freedom of action in the new provinces was naturally granted to one of the most firm
ideological pillars of the tsarist empire -- the Russian orthodox church; though as the
Landeskirche in the Estonian and Livonian territories, the Lutheran church long maintained a
de facto predominance.
The most important organ of Baltic German local government was the Diet, consisting of all
the noble families who had been `selected' in a list of the eligible. Although jealously
guarding their privileges, the knighthoods still never became entirely closed. Between
sessions of a Diet, the legislative power of the knighthoods belonged to the Council of the
Diet.